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It's a 'Burgh
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Posted on 02/06/2004 9:41:45 AM PST by Willie Green
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:35:32 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The Port Authority's plan to tunnel under the Allegheny River to extend its light rail system got a dual-track federal blessing this week that could result in a big hole appearing near PNC Park by year's end.
The North Shore Connector project was listed as "recommended" on a federal report analyzing more than 100 transit projects, positioning it to receive up to 80 percent of its estimated $363 million cost in federal money. The proposal is one of just five in President Bush's 2005 budget that the federal government plans to fund at maximum levels.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
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It's a 'Burgh
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Not me. They've wasted billions on every other damn thing they can think of. Sounds like a Murphy project.
I'll bet against it.
IMHO, $363 million should be MORE than adequate to add a measly 1.5 miles to the existing system. even with the technical challenge of tunneling under the river.
I don't know if the improvement justifies the expenditure, that's a different issue.
But I do believe that it can be constructed for the amount budgeted.
Anybody who claims it'll take five times that amount ($1.8+ billion) is just demonstrating their partisan bias.
Nonsense. This money doesn't have a party. It's a waste of $363 million dollars at the least. Money that would retire $363 million dollars of debt.
This particular extension has been in discussion since the modernization of the system, and it's a good move. The price tag seems a bit low because tunneling is quite expensive. This extention will be the beginning of a new system that will serve Pittsburgh well. It's precisely the kind of city in size and density that is best served by this mode.
As I stated, that's a different issue.
$363 million is a lot of money,
but we're only talking 1.5 miles of construction.
Frankly, I think there may have been options available that are less expensive,
but that doesn't lead me to some rediculous conclusion that THIS alternative will cost five times what's been budgeted.
Sure, why not?
Afterall, this project isn't exactly Boston's "Big Dig".
Nor is it a major effort to cross the Rocky Mountains.
Sheeesh. It's just a piddly little project to add 1.5 miles to an existing system in Pittsburgh.
A $363 million budget has plenty of padding in it already.
They'll complete the project within the projected cost.
And when they want another $300~400 million, they'll point at their "success" and propose that ANOTHER mile or two be added to the system.
I merely stated I wouldn't take the bet.
foreverfree
But Pittsburgh doesn't have large ocean going vessels, like those other locales. One of the 5 existing bridges across the Allegheny could be converted for a whole lot less money. And that's assuming the LTR extension to the stadia is necessary.
But it ain't, its a short walkable distance, bus service is appropriate for the low-traffic route and about a thousand times less expensive and even more convenient for the passengers who could catch a bus right at the curb. Even free limo service across the 3 sister bridges would be cheaper by many fold.
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